Reporting sensitivity and resistance of bacteria to antibiotics.

To the Editor: Once again I call upon Infection Control and Hospital Epidewliology to assist in the resolution of a problem that probably concerns infection control and pharmacy therapeutics committees in acute hospital settings compared with long-term skilled nursing facilities. In reporting sensitivity and resistance of bacteria to antibiotics, it is either as the values of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) or Kirby-Bauer. In the population in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and the actual difficulty and reluctance of attending men to monitor their patients as closely as those in the acute environment, what would be the preferable system to use for the antibiotics of choice? Is there any difference in the results based upon the zone ofinhibition that is seen on the plate! Is there any compatibility or interchange in the two tests? Is there a preference in the use of either test, depending on factors such as age, weight and location of the patient or whether the infection is nosocomial versus community acquired? And lastly, does prior or current monotherapy versus multiantibiotic therapy affect the choice of the test?